At what point do you cut your losses and run ?

Diesel Honda's destroy clutches in less than 6 years, even with the newer design.

One of my focus diseasel co cars done its clutch at 3 years old and 90k

One of my fathers diseasel 5's needed one at 6 years old and circa 100k

Its hardly beyond the realms of possibility. Now that most have a dmf it needs doing at the same time. Its expensive and entirely possible it'll need replacing during his ownership.

Its not an "omg diesel, clutch" statement, I'm just pointing out an expensive item that could quite feasibly need doing
 
SkodaMart said:
Personally I don't rate Ford cars.
They are great when new, however I estimate they only have a useful life of around 8 years before they either rust or throw up big bills.
That's not a long time as a private buyer.
It shouldn't however deter company buyers as they change frequently before any problems should arise.
Click to expand...

My Focus is 11, owned 3.5 years and all that has broken was a boot release switch.
 
rodenal said:
Diesel Honda's destroy clutches in less than 6 years, even with the newer design.

One of my focus diseasel co cars done its clutch at 3 years old and 90k

One of my fathers diseasel 5's needed one at 6 years old and circa 100k

Its hardly beyond the realms of possibility. Now that most have a dmf it needs doing at the same time. Its expensive and entirely possible it'll need replacing during his ownership.

Its not an "omg diesel, clutch" statement, I'm just pointing out an expensive item that could quite feasibly need doing
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Yeah, see they are bigger mileage cars, so not so much an age thing than a mileage thing really.

But yeah, while it is true that there is a pretty good chance that the clutch will need done within his 100k ownership, it is equally as likely to need done in his current car, or any other car he might chose to buy. So it is less likely to be an "extra" incurred cost, and more of an expected cost regardless of which way the OP goes. Unless he specifically looks for one that has JUST been done, and presumably sells it before needing done again.

Moreover, I suspect the clutch / flywheel will be cheaper on a family diesel estate (or similar), than it would be in his current ST, or any other "sporty" vehicle. Thus again reducing the average repair budget over the term.
 
Not really no, it'll be expensive in any car with a dual mass fly. The Mondeo has an awkward design for clutch changing diesel or petrol hence the slightly silly cost he has already paid for the ST, which won't need another one soon so the cost of one in a potential new car is a definite extra

A non turbo charged petrol car would be less likely to need it in my experience, though I don't think for a second that a diesel isn't more suitable for the mileage tbh.

I would take a Superb too, lovely cars for the money
 
Okay, I got the hmrc approved allowance calculation wrong and okay it isn't business mileage. My bad.

However, it does given an indication on what the expected petrol, maintenance and depreciation budget on doing 25k miles a year should be.

(£0.45 x 10,000) + (£0.25 x 15,000) = £8,250.
 
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[TW]Fox;26858887 said:
Where has your 200 quid a year number come from? Thin air?
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Are you going to contribute to this thread or just stick stupid condescending comments in it like always ?

I can never work you out Fox, you have a wealth of knowledge and common sense particularly in situations such as this one yet most of the time choose not to share it and just stick pointless unhelpful comments in like this.


xs2man said:
I would imagine it has come from the OP thinking that a newer car will have less, on average, go wrong with it. So he is equating that to approximately 1/3rd of his ST's "fixing" budget. (Assuming parts for the lower powered, "boring" diesel don't carry a "sporty" price tag like the ST might).

Normal servicing looks to be considered the same.

I can't imagine why anyone would thing a newer car will shred it's clutch in 6 years? Would an older car last longer? Presumably the OP will be pretty gentle on such parts on account of his higher mileage. Must be mostly motorway.

Skoda Superb Estate would be my weapon of choice for your needs OP. A lot of car for not a lot of money. And should cope with the mileage well. As you say, banging 100k onto the car over 4 years will drastically reduce it's value, so I guess your plan is to run it into the ground? If not, the difference in value on a 7 year old Passat or Superb with 150k will be minimal. The purchase cost of a 3 year old example with 30-50k on it might be significant though.
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Thanks for the comments, at this point this thread is not about choosing a new car, it is choosing between keeping current car and getting a new(er) car

I know that if someone else were in the exact same position as me I would be telling them to keep the mondy for a year or 2, but whatever choice I seem to make when it comes to cars it always seems to be the wrong one :(

My maths below so that it can be put under scrutiny in case I have made any horrific errors
Code: 
		Octavia	ST220
			
Cost		11000	0
mpg		55	24
fuel		2765.27	3670.42
tyres		400	500
service		200	250
gas service	0	150
mot		55	55
tax		30	270
maintenance	200	600
ins		500	800
loan payment	2400	0
Annual Cost	6550.27	6295.42
Monthly Cost	545.86	524.62
 
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You should factor in some end point value for both ( or at least, what is the Mondeo worth right now if you were to sell? Is that already accounted for and being used to fund some of the potential new car?

Likewise with the new one, you will absolutely destroy its value but a 5-6 year old car even with say 150-200k will still have some residual worth.

I'd lower the 55mpg, can't see how you'll be returning that in the same situation the St provides 24mpg.

I'd increase the annual maintenance costs for the diesel. Allow for say one clutch during its life maybe even a turbo at some point, lots of bushes, full suspension refresh etc then divide it out.

Servicing allow for at least one if not two cambelts, check when the vag car needs its bigger services like box oil etc too and factor that in

Edit - St fuel also looks wrong, your comparable mpg must be more like 40mpg?
 
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Consider that the maintenance jobs you've done this year to the ST220 would be required on most cars during their useable life. It's not as if the car has been unreliable.
 
What type of driving will you be doing over this 25k pa? Because 24MPG sounds a bit low unless there's a LOT of urban driving involved.
 
Think he has allowed for the cost of gas if you check the numbers its more like an equivalent 40mpg

I re done it (on phone) and got a 4 year overall cost near as makes no difference the same for both. That's leaving in a number of questionable numbers though ( and adding some of my own) such as the maintenance for ST, loan cost, insurance cost

Edit see below best i could do on a mobile:

Code: 
Mileage	25000						
Cost per L	1.33						
Term (years)	4						
		Octavia	ST220	new oct	new st		
							
Cost 		11000	0	£9,500		residual worth of ST deducted from Octy cost	
mpg		55	24	£55	£40		
fuel pa		2765.27	3670.42	£2,748	£3,779		
tyres pa	400	500	£400	£500		
service pa	200	250	£313	£300	Octy allows cambelt(500), +2 minor + 1 with other additional(350). ST 2 minor 2 bigger (350)	
gas service pa	0	150			£150		
mot pa		55	55	£55	£55		
tax pa		30	270	£30	£270		
maintenance pa	200	600	£425	£600	octy clutch or turbo, suspension + 500 odds n sodds. Mondeo left- doesn't look representative	
ins pa		500	800	£500	£800	Doesn’t' look correct	
loan payment pa2400	0	£2,400	£0	Doesn't look correct even for original, left for now	
							
residual  now			£10,000	£1,500	assume less £1k than acrually paid	
residual+ 4 yr term	       -£375	£0	octy retains 15%, ford nothing. spread back for annual deduction	
annual cost			£6,496	£6,454		
monthly				 £541	£538
 
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Once you factor in the loss in value of the Octavia over 4 years (presumably around £7k or so) vs basically nil for the ST220, your maths start working out a lot worse for changing. You've basically got a prefect commuting car - powerful petrol LPG converted Mondeo, with big bills already taken care of - just keep it!
 
If you like the ST220, keep it and get the seat and rear bushes fixed. Changing a petrol V6 for a diesel that won't actually save you any money just doesn't make sense.
 
The other thing about the Octavia is that you commit yourself to paying the loan for 4 years (or settlement cost).

With the Mondeo as soon as you stop driving or sell it, your costs decline considerably or stop.

If you start driving less then the numbers again look poor.

Less flexibility.

Depreciation curve also means if you wish to sell the Octavia early (rather than holding onto it for 4 years) the numbers look pretty bad.
 
commute is around 50 miles each way, 35 miles dual carriageway and 10 B road and 5 town miles
Mondeo returns around 24 mpg on gas (slightly worse than on petrol) It does also use around £30 a month in petrol.

The whole point of this thread is to restore my sanity. ie Am I mad to just keep driving the Mondeo. Seems that most in here suggest to keep the Mondeo. Given the response from this thread I will keep it. :)


To answer a few things though, the Mondeo is probably worth £2k now. The Octavia would still be worth more than that in 4 years even with 150k miles on it, so there is a benefit from that perspective.

Rodenal, why do you think the insurance doesn't look right ?
Car is insured for me and the GF and she is (relatively) inexperienced so pushes the cost up on a car like the ST.

Loan cost was based on a 4 year loan of £9k (11k - the current value of Mondeo), you say it's worth £1500 meh ok the loan would be slightly more in that case.


commited - how would I get the seat sorted ? mechanic had a quick poke under it on Thursday and couldn't see what it was with a glance. It did seem to have movement on the rails that move the seat.
 
There's theoretical worth and getting rid of the car in the real world, bear that in mind. Its impossible to say what it'd be worth tbh

I just guessed a value for the ford, if its worth 2 its worth 2. Insurance looks far too big a delta between the two cars all other variables being the same. Even if i insure our 107 as the main driver instead of the fn2 it only saves about £200 and its about the cheapest quote I've ever had on a car. I can't see how going from the ST to an Octavia saves you 37.5%/£300 off the premium, it just doesn't feel right even with a less experienced driver on.
 
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